Stories About Elves
by Amanita Jackson
Summary: Based on the second ministory of Stories about Elves in 'Grimm's Fairy Tales.' Our boys get hired to search for a woman taken by rather malicious elves. May or may not have Grimmcest, none as of now.
1. In Which Hilde Leaves

A/N: So.I was lfipping through Grimm's Fairy Tales, which I have in English, when I spotted this story. I mean, come on. It grabbed my imagination by the throat and shouted "WRITE SOMETHING FOR THIS, YOU SODDING GIT!" Here you go. Please do review and tlel me whether or not you want Grimmcest in later chapters...

* * *

_There was once a poor servant maid who was very cleanly and industrious ; she swept down the house every day, and put the sweepings in a great heap by the door. One morning, before she began her work, she found a letter, and as she could not read, she laid her broom in a corner and took the letter to her master and mistress, to see what it was about ; and it was an invitation from the elves, who wished the maid to come and stand godmother to one of their children. The maid did not know what to do ; and as she was told that no one ought to refuse the elves anything, she made up her mind to go. So there cam three little elves, who conducted her into the middle of a high mountain, where the little people lived. Here everything was of a very small size, but more fine and elegant than can be told. The mother of the child lay in a bed made of ebony, studded with pearls, the counterpane was embroidered with gold, the cradle was ivory, and the bathing-tub of gold. So the maid stood godmother, and was then for going home, but the elves begged her to stay at least three more days with them ; and so she consented, and spent the time in mirth and jollity, and the elves seemed very fond of her. At last, when she was ready to go away, they filled her pockets full of gold, and led her back out of the mountains. When she got back to the house, she was going to begin working again, and took her broom in her hand ; it was still standing in the corner where she had left it, and began to sweep. Then came up some strangers and asked her who she was, and what was shedoing. And she found that instead of three days, she had been seven years with the elves in the mountain, and that during that time her master and mistress had died._

_--Grimm's Fairy Tales, Stories About Elves, II_

* * *

"Art thou Hilde, mistress?" asked the rider, dressed in peasant's clothing made from damask. The grubby servant maid gaped at him.

"Art thou Hilde, mistress?" he asked again. She shook her head dumbly, transfixed by the pale beauty of the man. He waited, but the awed woman didn't venture any further information. He sighed.

"Wilt thou tell me where she dwells, that I may leave this letter?" He was rewarded with a shaking arm pointing the way.

"T-two doors down, master," the servant maid quavered. "Lives there with a master an mistress, milord," she added quickly as he raised his eyebrow at the thought that a serving maid would live in a place as fine as the one she had pointed out.

"Thanks be to thee, mistress." He handed her a small gold coin. "For thy service," he explained. He turned the horse and rode two doors down as instructed. The horse knelt down and he slipped the letter under the door. The serving maid, still gawping, saw him make a complex motion with his hands. He swung himself up into the saddle again. The horse rose and cantered off.

The serving maid eyed the house warily. She crossed herself and hurried back inside to finish her sweeping and washing. She didn't venture outside the rest of the day, until she had heard Hilde was gone.

She'd seen the elf-shot tipping the pretty man's arrows as he had ridden away.

* * *

Hilde woke, as she did every day. She rose from her pallet and started the fire and went through her early morning chores and habits, as she did every day. However, this morning was different.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, picking up the letter on the floor. She held it, wrinkling her brow. She could not read, so she tried to identify the seal at the end.

Her master and mistress were quite influential and Hilde could recognise the seals of their most frequent correspondents. The Luxemborgs always bore bad news, so their letters were best to deliver after breakfast when the master and mistress were at their calmest. The son of the master and mistress almost always bore good news, so it meant an extra coin or two if she got the letter to them just as they were awakening.

This seal was strange. It was made of honeybee wax and was covered in intricate designs. Hilde wondered if the curling tendrils ever ended, even if looked at under the master's magnifying glass.

She shook head, dispelling such idle thoughts. She was a good, hard worker and apparently this was a new contact of the master's or the mistress'. She hurried upstairs with the letter.

* * *

Her master read the letter again, and set it gravely on his desk. Hilde tried to keep herself from fidgeting nervously. She'd never been called into the master's study before. The last servant who had been in the study had been dismissed for sloth and before that poor Conrad had been called in to be told about his family being taken by the plague.

Her master cleared his throat. He gazed at her nearsightedly across the desk.

"It seems this letter is for you, Hilde," he began, choosing his words carefully. He was a kind if rather dull man and he did not like complicated situations.

"It appears to be an invitation from the elves. They wish you to stand godmother to one of their children, up in the mountains. On the morrow they will be sending three guides to take you to their hall, should you accept."

At this point, he pushed the letter to the side and leaned forward.

"I do not like this. They are sending elves will-ye, nil-ye. If you refuse them, they will be at our doorstep already. You have heard the stories. I do not want angry elves at my doorstep, Hilde."

Hilde's master leant back in his chair resignedly. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

"However much I do not like this situation, I can neither compel you nor forbid you to go. All I ask is that you keep in mind of the consequences of your choice." He waved his hand to indicate the house and brought it down with a thump upon the arm of his chair.

"I have tried to be a good master to this household, and that includes protecting it. I pay my taxes and keep watchers. I try not to anger people. I--" he shook his head and stopped.

"Yes, master…?" Hilde asked timidly.

He waved his hand again. "Never mind, my girl. Never you mind. You may have the afternoon to consider this. I ask only that you do not take this decision lightly and that you inform me and your mistress when you have made your decision." He caught her eye.

"I do not like elves or fairies or magic folk. They are too tricky and strange things happen to those who deal with them, even if the elves are not cheated. Be careful, my girl. Elves are trouble whether they like you or not." He gave the letter to her and dismissed her from the study with a wave. As she left, he went back to tallying the accounts and trying to block out the memories of twenty years before.


	2. In Which the Brothers Arrive

Chapter 2, version 2.0! Glaring errors and general wordiness have hopefully been cleared up. Chapter three should be up within the hour. (crosses fingers)

Incidentally, it is really hard to type with crossed fingers.

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Jakob sat at the bar, listening, as Wilhelm flirted with the pretty girl behind the counter.

"Old Master Vilnius took sick with his missus, I hear," said a dark man who had just entered the tavern. He took the empty seat next to Jake and ordered a drink. "Just been over there meself. Dead as doornails, both. Elf-shot," he added, lowering his voice.

The bar went silent.

"Not elf-shot, John, ye lying pig," complained the pretty girl, brushing Wilhelm's hand off her skirt as she scurried over to hand him his drink. "When yer cow dropped last spring ye said the calf were elf-shot, and it were been fine but for that bit with the dogs over the winter. But what's this about old Vilnius bein' dead? Healthy as a horse last week, he was."

John shook his head. "It were acting queer even before that. I'll swear the beast's elf-shot, just as Vilnius and his missus were."

"How do you know they had been elf-shot, master John?" asked Jake, trying not to appear too eager. The brothers hadn't had any work or stories for nearly a month.

John took a swig of hard cider and wiped his mouth on his grimy sleeve.

"Well, I carries the wood for them, see, it gettin' to be fall and everything. I get paid today, so I went up to the house and knocked on the door. No answer, so I open it and I see the maid sobbing. I ask her what's wrong and she says the master and mistress are dead."

There was muttering from several tables around them. Several of them had relatives in the employ of the dead couple, who were by and large considered the decent sort. Jake motioned for the man to go on.

"So I calms her down and asks her to show me where they are, maybe they've been taken down with the Sleep or some such."

The patrons nodded. The Sleeping Death had roared through the town this summer, taking a few lives and causing much general worry. Most victims usually woke up after a few weeks of heavy sleep, if they did not die of thirst, neglect or malnutrition.

"But the lord was collapsed on the floor with not a sign on 'im, just like he were putting on his boots. I looked for the mistress and she'd been shot halfway getting' out of bed. Me and the maid checked and they had neither fever nor breath nor colour in their faces. But the maid swore up and down that the two'd been well when they went to bed. There was no sign of a struggle or a thief in the night," he concluded.

Those present looked at each other, knowing the final proof of the shot.

John lowered his voice and winked at his audience. "What was the strangest was--there weren't a mark on either of them!"

"Checked the missus all over, did ye?" someone snickered.

"The maid did that, as you well know, but their clothes weren't torn neither," John shot beck. "Most peculiar, but only one explanation. I'd swear on my right hand they were!"

There was more muttering and mumbling as the rest of the tavern mulled this over.

The barmaid gasped and dropped the glass. It shattered unnoticed on the floor.

"Hilde! John, sirs, what day is it?"

Wilhelm looked at her strangely. "It's the last day of September, my lass," he told her, trying to pull her into his lap.

Her eyes widened. "Just a month away from when Hilde was taken! They took her on All Hallows E'en!" she gasped. She looked around at the incredulous faces. "It's nearing three years since she went away!"

Jakob broke the nervous silence. "Beg pardon, but who is Hilde and what happened to her?"

Jake rolled his eyes as Will tried to sneak a grope while everyone else was looking at the floor in…what, nervousness? Embarrassment? Fear, Jake wondered?

Will cleared his throat as the barmaid slapped his hand away again with a sly grin. "We are the Brothers Grimm. Dear people, we have travelled far and wide across many lands and we have always come out triumphant! We can find this Hilde for you, if you are willing to give us the information we need. And our pay, of course," he added.

"Hilde was my sister," growled John. "Day before All Hallows E'en near three years ago, she got a letter. She, not knowing how to read any more than I can, took it to the Master and the Mistress for them to read to her. She told me it said that the elves wanted her to stand godmother to one of their babes and that three elves'd be arriving the next day. She said no one ought to refuse the elves, so she was packing. She left with three stripling lads in hoods and cloaks the next day and we haven't seen her again."

The barmaid spoke up again. "No one's gone looking for her but the elves have been hunting round here a lot more than they used to. There's no deer, the rabbits have been scared away, and even trade from the other towns has dropped off some since the traders keep turning up dead with the horses spooked and the trade goods all strange."

"They ha'n't come into the town, before, though," A young man pointed out. "The hunting stopped the first year she was gone, but since that second November they've been hunting without mercy."

"Has anyone else gone missing?" asked Wilhelm, a familiar glint in his eye. Jake gave a mental groan and almost groaned out loud, but stopped himself at Will's sharp glare.

"A few, a fair few. Infants, like. Near four changelings this summer alone! They got away before we could get the real babes back," said a man miserably.

"Good townsfolk, fear not! Tomorrow, we shall talk with your mayor--"

"I'm here now," said the mayor amidst scattered laughter. "So are most of the prominent men in the town. If you can go up to the mountains and get Hilde and the babes back, stop the elves from hunting so close to town, _and_ come back alive, you can have whatever you want!" he declared. He laughed and clapped his empty mug on the table.

"We'll do it!" agreed Wilhelm immediately. Jake nodded. Elves were new. Jake hadn't dealt with elves before.

The mayor stared, chuckling nervously. "I…I didn't mean for you to actually take the offer, lads."

"Worried you can't pay?" asked Wilhelm. He waved a hand dismissively. "We'll settle the price tomorrow morning before we set off."

There was more laughter with a fearful undertone.

"You're truly going after the elves? You'll be killed!" spluttered the mayor.

"Or worse," put in John darkly.

Jake knew his cue and stood. "We rescued Marbaden, and many other towns besides. We have faced down witches, demons, even a Queen! Elves hold no fear for us." Will slung an arm around his brother's shoulders and picked up the rest of the speech, boasting about all their many triumphs and successes.

Jake let his mind wander. Elves. Mountains. They'd need a map, for starters. Food, provisions, get fresh horseshoes, sharpen the knives and get more parchment…

Will had finished his speech. Jake dragged him off to a corner of the bar and the brothers talked over their plans.

So. Elves, Jake mused. This would be interesting.


	3. In Which There is Planning and Rain

Well, here you are. Things will get more interesting (and the chapters will get longer...), I promise.

* * *

All four were on edge. The horses kept spooking every few hundred paces and the brothers weren't much calmer.

Jake swore and checked the map. An entire trail and a small valley weren't even on the damn thing! He stuffed it back into his satchel and ran a hand through his mare's rain-slicked mane.

"There's a good girl," he murmured. He glanced up at the sky, then twisted to face his brother.

"Will! We should stop soon. I don't like the look of the sky," he called.

"I don't like the look of the whole damn place!" Will shot back. "Someone's playing tricks here. We should keep going."

"Be that as it may, it looks like a storm. We can't afford to have to horses injured."

Will snarled a curse and raked his hair with his fingers. He scanned the sky, then the trees.

"All right," he agreed grudgingly. "But let's get past these firs, at least."

They managed to ride to the edge of the patch of trees before they sky opened up again and rain bucketed down.

The horses managed to slog through another hundred paces before Falada stumbled. Jake brought her to a halt and Will reigned in his horse as well.

"Welcome to camp, I suppose," said Jake sourly. "I just hope Falada can still walk."

They dismounted and walked the horses to a large tree with spreading, silver-leafed branches. Jake rigged up a canvas tent under its cover while Will unloaded the food and tied up the horses. They couldn't find enough dry wood to make a fire, so they sat inside the tent with their supper of cold bread and cheese.

"So. Let's talk strategy," Will began through a mouthful of dairy product. He swallowed. "Where are we looking, what do we do if we find Hilde or one of the kids, what do we do if we find any of the so-called elves, what do we do if we don't find anything?"

"I think it's more likely we'll meet elves," said Jake thoughtfully. "And I'm not sure how to plan for that. If we _do_ come across Hilde or one of the children, then we simply take them back to the village." Will nodded.

"Which leaves the question of where to search, and how long for," Will said, offering Jake the rest of the portion of bread. "She was taken three years ago. Does two weeks sound good?"

Will stopped and leaned near the canvas wall, listening. Jake shot him a questioning look, but he was already shaking his head and leaning back. With a quick glance at the roof of the tent, he half-shuttered the lantern.

"I suppose," said Jake. He was a little unnerved. Neither the dim light nor his brother's odd behaviour were abating his nerves.

"Well, if we can't find anything, we'll either go back and say they're dead or follow the road on the other side of the mountains and go on to the next little town," Will added, tracing the path with his finger.

Jake pulled the map closer to the lantern. "Now, I think we should try a systematic search. If we start looking here--"

Will started. He clapped a hand over his brother's mouth as he shuttered the lantern all the way.

"Someone's out there!" he hissed quietly. "I'm sure of it now."

Jake shifted to face the hanging tent flap. They hadn't bothered to close it after they'd gotten in. If he strained, his weak vision could just make out a few wispy shapes in the rain. There was a heavy groan that seemed to come from all around.

That night, Will slept clutching the hilt of his knife and a loaded pistol by his other hand. Rather than his pistol, Jake opted for the spare tent stake--a foot-long spike of heavy iron.

They slept fitfully, waking often. When they did sleep, they heard eerie laughter and dreamt of figures dancing in a swirling coloured mist at a banquet hall of fog and rain.

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(cough)Reviews-are-deeply-encouraged(cough)(cough)(cough). 


	4. In Which the Brothers Continue

Hmm...slightly longer chapter. I'm not sure if I quite got the feel right. I tried me best. Just imagine this taking place on one of those days where the whole land is shrouded in thick, white mist and all you can see of it is your own little bubble of visibility, a frail little shell of a world.

* * *

Will was the first one to wake in the morning. He went outside to use a tree and to make sure the horses were still there. It was foggy out. White fog, dropping like a curtain just beyond the reach of the tree's branches to obscure the rest of the world. It was bright, in a strange, directionless way. Idly, Will wondered if the tree was somehow keeping back the fog.

The wind shifted and carried the scent of fir to him. He quickly focused on other matters.

With his bladder emptied and the horses seen to, Will decided to be nice and bring Jake some bread for his breakfast. He dug around in the saddlebag and broke off a sizeable hunk of the tough black stuff.

Tossing the bread from hand to hand, Will didn't notice the tree root near his feet. He stumbled and toppled forward, catapulting the loaves several paces ahead. Will heaved himself back up and chuckled. He strolled over to the dropped breakfast and was stooping to grab them when he froze. His gaze locked on the small fungi just past the bread.

He hurried around the circle of fog, the one held back by the tree. Yes, there were toadstools all around the perimeter. He came back full circle--

--but the bread wasn't there.

"Jake…? Jake?" Will called out, rooted to the spot. No answer from the tent.

"JAKE!" he hollered.

"Hmm? Whu?" Jake slurred sleepily, sticking his head out of the tent. "Wha' is it?" he asked, yawning.

"Get out here. You have to see this!" Will hissed. Jake obligingly stumbled out of the tent and shuffled over to his brother.

"I ask again, what is it?" said Jake dryly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"This. This! This circle, this fog, this tree, this, this--" Will gestured, the motion taking in the whole off-putting clearing. "--this whole place! We're in a fairy ring, Jake. A perfect circle. I checked. And someone's doing this. The noises we heard last night, the--the _things_ moving back there in the fir trees, everything! I dropped some bread here and saw the ring, so I followed it around and when I came back the bread was gone. The horses are nervous and there _aren't any animals_. You're the scholar, Jake. What in hell is going on?"

Jake snatched up one of the saddlebags and dug around, eventually fishing up an old book, so old the leather was cracking and half-gone. He fumbled with it for a moment before flipping to the index.

"Elves, elves, elves…" he muttered to himself as his fingers flew across the pages. "AH!' He jabbed his finger at a passage. "Here. It says they can…hmmm…"

Jake lapsed into silence, studying the page. Will was trying to surreptitiously read over his shoulder when Jake closed the book with a snap.

"I think," Jake began slowly, "all we have to do is lead the horses up the path. Let's pack up and keep going. And Will, I _do_ mean we _walk_ the horses. As long as we stay on the path, we'll be fine. The horses won't know whether we're on the path or off, and we can't afford that."

"Yes, great, fine, but why is everything so strange?" Will said, exasperated.

"You don't need to worry about that. Just remember to stay on the path." Jake thought for a moment. "Perhaps it's best if I go first," he suggested.

"Damn it, Jake! Just tell me what's going on!" hollered Will. "How hard is that?"

"I don't know what's going on, Will," Jake told him quietly. "I don't _know_. There's pages about fairy rings and some on mist, but I--I don't even know what this tree is! I haven't seen anything like it before."

Will started to speak but he was cut off by his increasingly hysterical brother.

"Will, I'd swear to God and the heavens it was moving or some such last night, but it's precisely the same as it was when we first saw it, so I can't prove or disprove anything. We'd been lost for hours because half of this terrain isn't on the map the villagers drew, and it's too quiet and I couldn't sleep at all last night so I can't think straight. I only know that fairy rings shouldn't sprout in those colours, and mist should fade when we walk towards it, even the fey kind, and there shouldn't be these _lights_ that shine everywhere from _nowhere_ and…and…"

Jake broke off, tossing the book back to the bags and slumped down.

"There's nothing useful in the book, Will. It doesn't say anything about this. Nor do any of the others. We're off the map and without a guide."

He allowed his head to fall onto his forearms.

"Will, I think we're truly in over our heads this time," he said.

"Nonsense! We are the Brothers Grimm, my dear Jake. Now stop whining and come get your horse. Let's get out of this godforsaken spot."

Jake was just finishing packing the tent when Will came back with the horses. He tossed Falada's reins to Jake. They hit Jake in the head, earning Will his first Reproachful Glare of the day.

Jake had his nose in another book and was trying to puzzle out the awful map. Will's gaze raked over the campsite. Satisfied, he turned and followed his brother up the mountain and into a landscape of mist.


	5. In Which Katherine Arrives

I'm pounding this sucker out at an absolutely amazing rate. (pats self on back) Here you go, another, longer chapter! And a new character! Keep your eye out in the next couple of chapters, I shall prolly be writing about Hilde at the feast pretty soon.

* * *

There followed several days of trudging up the mountain path and several nights spent in watches. They always stayed on the path. It had been a week since they'd left the little village but there were a few animals around. Will was more than a little disturbed at the way that deer had walked up to him and stared madly at him until he'd shot it. At least they had more meat. The place they had camped at last night was at the bottom of a wall of rock that turned out to be a cliff beginning four hundred feet above. It was cold and clear that morning, with an odd tang to the air. 

Somehow, Wilhelm Grimm could smell the sea.

That was especially worrying, because they were at least eighty miles from the nearest ocean.

Will was poking at the fire, waiting for his eggs to finish, when he heard someone stumble. He whipped around to see a little girl brushing herself off. She was a very slim child, looking to be about five or six years old, dressed in a tattered shift of silk and satin. He wondered why her clothes looked like any other peasant child's but were made of such good cloth in such good condition.

Satisfied that she had gotten all the dust off, she continued tiptoeing towards him.

Will shook his head and blinked. Yes, she was still there.

"Little girl?" he began, then broke off. What was he supposed to say to some kid who'd followed them up there?

"Shhh!" she hissed, glaring at him. She put a small hand to her mouth, index finger against her lips. She pointed with her other little white hand to Jake, who mumbled something about trees and fairies and snuggled further under the blankets.

"He's sleeping," she scolded.

"Yes. Now, little girl, what do you want?" Will inquired, laying on the charm.

"I have a story," the girl told him solemnly. "I'm looking for--"

"That's lovely, little girl. You can tell me while we go find your parents, okay? Did you follow us up here?"

"No. I followed you _down_. We're _down_ the mountain, stupid," she admonished. "And stop talking like that. I'm not stupid. Mama and Papa are still at the feast. I _told_ them I was going for a walk," she informed him. "Even the _queen_ said it was okay. I don't have to be back for _ages_! And don't interrupt, cos it's _rude_."

"Look, kid. I don't know who you think you are or what you think you're doing, but--"

"Will?"

Jake had woken up. He threw off the blanket and hastened over. "What's going on? Who is that?"

The girl opened her mouth but Will cut her off.

"She's some kid who followed us here. She says she has a story and that her mama and papa said she could come out here. Probably Hilde's sister or something."

"Nooo! Hilde doesn't _have_ any sisters, stupid! We can't be sisters! And _stop interrupting me_!" She turned to Jake. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jakob Grimm, and this is my brother Wilhelm. Although it sounds like you two have met," Jake added under his breath.

To his slight surprise, the girl curtsied inexpertly to him, then gazed at him in awe.

"You're really truly the Brothers Grimm?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yes," Jake replied with a grin. "We're really truly the Brothers Grimm."

"I've been looking for you. I have a story for you," she told him solemnly, just as she had tried to tell Will earlier.

"Well, girl--I'm sorry, what was your name?" Jake asked.

"Katherine. My Mama is a maid for the Queen, you know," she added. "And my Papa is the Queen's doctor, too. He helped deliver…" her forehead creased delicately as she thought hard. The brothers exchanged glances.

"Dorian! That's the little baby's name," she said finally. "He's a pretty baby. And I got to hold him. The first day of the feast I was the eighth one to hold him, and did you know that my Papa was the first to hold the baby? Because the Queen was the third one to hold Dorian. That's the baby. Cos Dorian was all icky and slimy until they wiped him off. I saw him being born, you know. I was fetching water and cool cloths for the Queen. It didn't take as long as the human stuff does, sometimes, Papa says, Papa sometimes goes and drops off the changelings, so he would know, and one time I got to come along and they didn't even notice! And it was the village down at the bottom of the mountain. Which is where Hilde is from. And my cousin went to get Hilde, he wore his cloak that he got special. He let me try it on once and I sneaked around the feast and I stole sweeties and they were raspberry and they were sticky and good but I got sticky all over the floor because I stepped on one by accident and Lord Thicky slipped on it and fell, it was funny. That was after Dorian wet himself all over Lord Thicky. Lord Thicky isn't his real name, I just call him that because he is."

She turned to Will, who had been morbidly fascinated by her monologue. "You look a bit like Lord Thicky, you know. He's stupid and rude too, just like you."

Jake cleared his throat, cutting off Will before the situation could turn nasty.

"Katherine, was it? You said you had a story for us…" he prompted.

"Oh, yes. That." She stopped and tilted her head as she pointed at Will. "He's _not_ Lord Thicky, is he?"

"No, I don't think so," Jake assured her. He was very proud of himself; he hadn't snickered.

"I'm hungry. Do you have any food? Because I haven't eaten since a while ago and I don't remember which way it is and the rabbit got away," she informed them.

"I--we have some meat, if you wish," Jake offered. "A stroke of luck, for we'd have run out of food otherwise. The map we were given is useless."

She asked for the meat and Will went grumbling off to fetch it while Jake talked more with the odd little child. She told him the story in the manner of five-year-olds everywhere, the narrative meandering and skipping around the actual events, her talk focused mainly on her own small experiences rather than the main event.

Will came back with the preserved strips of deer flesh to find Jake listening politely as Katherine told him in detail about how Silas had been pulling on her hair and how she had kicked him in the shin and put dirt in his breeches and shoved him in the mud and how subsequently Silas and his friend had taken turns throwing pebbles at her while the king was making another of his really boring speeches and how Anatalia had told her that Silas liked her which was icky.

She thanked them, set the meat down, delicately tucked her lengthy hair behind her ears, and said the strangest prayer the brothers had ever heard:

**-**

**"**_**They'll call it chance, or** **luck, or call it Fate--**_

_**The cards and stars that tumble as they will.**_

_**Tomorrow manifests and brings the bill**_

_**For every kiss and kill, the small and great.**_

_**You want to know the future, love? Then wait:**_

_**I'll answer your impatient questions. Still--**_

_**They'll call it chance, or luck, or call it Fate,**_

_**The cards and starts that tumble as they will.**_

**_-_**

_**I'll come to you tonight, dear, when it's late,**_

_**You will not see me; you may feel a chill.**_

_**I'll wait until you sleep, than take my fill,**_

_**And that will be your future on a plate.**_

_**They'll call it chance, or luck, or call it Fate."**_

**_-_**

When it was said, she clapped her hands and giggled, then picked up the meat and began to eat.

Both brothers' eyes had widened and both were making small, odd, squeaky sounds, but for slightly different reasons. Will's reason was the 'prayer' the girl had uttered. Jake's reason was her act of tucking her hair behind her ears. Her _pointed_ ears.

* * *

Even more A/N! Yay: The poem-prayer is by Neil Gaiman; "Reading the Entrails: A Rondel". I wanted to nick an actual Brother's Grimm rhyme, but this fits so much better. Neil Gaiman is totally awesome and he's like my absolute favourite author. Go read his stuff, he is AMAZING. Coraline is a particularly good read for younger people, but all his stuff I've read so far is awesome. 

Read my other stuff and please review! Thanks much to Brilliant Disguise, by the way. Fluffy feelings abound when I read your reviews! Thanks to AbCarter too.

(The rest of you--over a hundred hits. Two people reviewed. Slight discerpancy..? Yes. Reflects the will of the people? Entirely possible. As average stories don't tend to get many reviews, it is a valid view. Reflects that my story is slightly better than average but people are too lazy to click the review button? Equally valid view. However, hits are good too. They make me happy, for it means I write good summaries and people return to my story even if they don't care enough to review.)

Reviews are love but have no bearing on the speed at which I crank this bunny out, because this is the fastest I've updated any story ever and I don't think it's physically possible for me to update faster unless I get unaddicted to FreeCell and the massive loads of laundry do themselves.

I also want to add that I absolutely love this little elf girl. Now I'm going to go back to laundry and housecleaning and end this painfully long blurb. Hope you're enjoying this fic as much as I am.


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